Chapter 100: Assessment (Eleven)

Chapter 100: Assessment (Eleven)

"Boom! ——"

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The universe was silent, but as everyone in the starship gazed at the brilliant purple spirit energy outside the window and the movements of the black mecha ahead, it felt as if the sounds of heavy weaponry firing automatically echoed in their ears.

In the cockpit, Sun Tong was drenched in sweat. His fingers danced across the starship's control panel, leaving trails of afterimages.

A standard gray shuttle darted through the cosmos, altering its trajectory abruptly with an almost playful agility, not unlike a creature leaping about playfully.

Despite his maneuvers, the pilot couldn't break free from Rong Mi's encompassing firepower.

The black mecha's wings had spread once more, and both primary and secondary cannons glowed with readiness.

Rong Mi's initial salvo of flames traced a circle in the vastness of space, mirroring the fleeting encirclement of the white dolphins around the ship moments ago.

Using that circular trajectory as a reference point, countless streaks of fire interwove, restricting the shuttle's operational area into a confined web.

Everyone aboard the starship held tightly onto their seat restraints. The examiner in charge of mecha operations couldn't help but exclaim, "Isn't the stealth mode still active?! How can Rong Mi seem to see it?!"

"Liu Yi doesn't 'see' it," came the cold reply.

The examiners exchanged glances. They couldn't help but feel that Liu Yi's tone was lighter than usual.

The Admiral, seated within the attacked starship, had a faint upward curve at the corners of his lips.

Liu Yi couldn't help but admire Rong Mi's powers of observation.

The white dolphins didn't linger around the starship for long, only a brief second.

Moreover, aquatic cosmic beasts enjoyed circling and leaping. If anyone else were in Rong Mi's place, they might have thought it was just a playful shift in the dolphins' formation as they swam.

Yet, Rong Mi had detected something amiss from the dolphins' circling radius and their swimming postures.

The young man had seen schools of dolphins swimming in the starport before, and had witnessed their joyful leaps and playfulness. He quickly picked up on the difference in this formation compared to their previous playful antics.

And then, without hesitation, he made his move decisively!

"Damn it!"

A few minutes' flight away, the warships that had drawn the attention of the butterfly cruisers were still hovering in space. They had been stunned by Rong Mi's solo fight against the ice butterflies, and now their eyes widened even further.

Their understanding of the military assessment was once again renewed by Rong Mi.

"Woah! What's the big guy doing?!"

"I have no idea!! There must be something in space! But I can't see anything at all?!"

"The firepower is intense!! I love it!"

"What can't be seen in space... If we can't see it now... Could it be the examiner's warship... I mean... pirates?!

"Rong Mi is attacking the pirates?! He's challenging a group of examiners alone!!—"

"Stop spectating and come assist us!!" Hua Oulo's grated voice echoed through the starship communication channel, "Do you know the difference between priorities and emergencies?!"

A dozen minutes away, Hua Oulo was still entangled in a fierce battle with Zhang Mingda's examiner starship.

Despite the intensity of the combat, ever since Zhang Mingda's reminder, Hua Oulo couldn't help but divert his attention to the rapidly flashing purplish cannonfire in the distance.

Unlike the earlier assault on the Ice Butterfly that spread out terrifyingly like an inferno across the galaxy, this display was no less frightening. It resembled a web of flickering lights, ensnaring its prey like a cage.

...Far more capable than my current predicament!

"Damn it!" Hua Oulo's starship was struck again by Zhang Mingda, its hull buckling inward. "We should also actively search for the pirates' location and launch an offensive..."

However, Rong Mi, who was operating the mecha, didn't share Hua Oulo's optimism.

"Brother Rong! —Are you sure the pirates are there?!" Phil, following Rong Mi's instructions and piloting a starship to provide assistance, shouted over the communication channel. "If their ship isn't there or they've already escaped, it would be counterproductive! We need to consider energy efficiency! Firing blindly without hitting the pirates won't just waste energy; without the pirate modules, the points we scored from hitting the Ice Butterfly will decrease significantly after adjustments!"

Rong Mi replied, "I have a feeling they're there."

Despite the flickering flames, he had yet to catch sight of any Star Pirates.

No Star Pirate mechs emerged from their hiding spots either.

This made the young man momentarily doubt his earlier decision.

Rong Mi composed himself and recollected the specifications of the pirate ship from the records, especially its maximum phase shift speed and cruising velocity.

"I suppose they've managed to escape my attack range," he muttered to himself. "Or are they just incredibly patient..."

...Refusing to send out mech pilots to disrupt his escape attempt!

In the examiner's warship, the Admiral maintained his calm expression as he tapped his knee gently.

Sending out mechs now to aid the ship in breaking free was acceptable.

But those mechs would likely be 'captured' by Rong Mi and never return.

To ensure fairness, the Star Pirates, being the more experienced side, didn't have many personnel on board.

During the assault on the examinees, he could deploy two mecha pilots, but Lu Yi had initially planned to keep both at his disposal.

Another reason he didn't order Sun Tong to retaliate directly against Rong Mi was due to the military's requirement. They only had one chance to "ambush" the candidates using stealth mode.

If they used that opportunity now, even if they temporarily evaded Rong Mi's attack, they would have to follow the young man's warship in plain sight, essentially becoming targets.

"Still can't break through?" Lu Yi asked calmly.

The performance ceiling stated on the warship's report was just a theoretical maximum. The speed that the pilot could actually maneuver the ship at was the true operational limit.

Mental fortitude augmenting propulsion, energy reallocation... Skilled pilots can often employ unique maneuvers to push a starship's speed beyond its theoretical limits.

Sun Tong felt as if his head were splitting in two.

"I can't do it! — Admiral!" He pleaded, "Rong Mi's mental strength is too high! He also uses mental power to aid his acceleration! And his mecha's performance is so superior... Don't you know that?!"

As a member of the First Legion, Sun Tong had long heard about the demonic performance of Rong Mi's mech.

"I should have let you pilot this starship if I knew we'd be doing this!—" Sun Tong usually held Lu Yi in high esteem. However, in times of crisis, he tended to get overly excited and disregard his choice of words. Maneuvering the starship to dodge, he yelled, "Rong Mi's timing for the first shot was impeccable!"

By the time he realized the need to dodge, it was already too late, and he found himself at a disadvantage.

"…How could anyone be so brazen as to attack a starship like this?! ——"

Lu Yi remained silent.

He gazed at the flames outside the window, pondering how long it would take for Rong Mi to mistakenly believe that their ship had escaped the encirclement, thus prompting him to cease his assault.

In the corner of his eye, shapes shifted within the purplish flames sweeping past the window, stretching outward, seemingly condensing into flaming feathers in the vastness of space.

Lu Yi: "…"

In the next instant, a violent tremor rippled through the surrounding energy field.

Beneath the spreading wings emerged a dragon's lithe body, followed by sharp claws.

Flames engulfed everything, with each purple energy filament quivering. The form of a dragon-bird began to coalesce amidst the fire.

A scorching domain was vaguely taking shape, expanding outward to sweep across a vast expanse of the cosmos, engulfing the starship's hull.

In an instant, everyone aboard the warship felt the temperature soaring rapidly.

The proctors: "..."

Lu Yi: "..."

In the other warships, those who had been attentively watching the match also fell silent: "..."

"Mother of... Do they have to make such a big fuss..." Sun Tong was on the verge of hysteria as he stared at the unfolding scene, "Did the military really not give Rong Mi any special instructions to hold back his powerful moves?! —Our lives matter too..."

In the command room, the admiral finally lowered the weapon control helmet, funneling his silver mental energy into the main cannon.

Rong Mi's mental strength had reached its peak; he was even adopting the same posture as when he fought against Cecilia, the butterfly warrior.

Aside from him, no one else on this warship could withstand such an assault from the young man.

They were "space pirates," and it was impossible for them to surrender without a fight.

As Lu Yi triggered the main cannon, a cold silver radiance erupted around the warship.

Cannons atop the starship spun, unleashing a blinding silver radiance that collided with the flaming dragon-bird hurtling tail-first, transforming into a frosty chain.

"Chirp!"

In the mental domain, the dragon-bird let out a cry.

Behind Lu Yi's starship, an armor-launching track extended outward.

The admiral no longer attempted to maintain the ship's stealth to evade Rong Mi's ambush. Instead, they finally engaged in a head-on confrontation.

Not far away, Phil's starship finally arrived.

Inside the armor preparation bay, Gu Ming exhaled deeply and shouted, "Brother Rong! We need to agree on this beforehand! I can only temporarily divert the proctor's armor—"

Phil: "I can only divert them temporarily too…—"

Rong Mi looked at the familiar silver glow ahead and clicked his tongue.

"I know!" he said. "Can you hold them off for a minute? Just one minute is all I need…"

The young man finished and tapped on the public channel again.

"Hey! The two teams heading to support Hua Oulo, hold your horses!" He raised his voice, addressing the starships that had been enjoying the spectacle and were now reluctantly turning back. "In this pirate module of the assessment, there's no rule stating which pirates you have to fight!"

"You might not make it in time to help Hua Oulo... But if you assist us in battling the pirates, each hit counts as a score!"

"Though they seem powerful, they can't withstand our group assault—"

"And my helper is pretty darn impressive too!"

As Rong Mi spoke, he raised his mecha's mechanical hand, gesturing to the wolf to attack.

"Ayin, don't hold back!" Since his own mecha and Flame Dragonbird were occupied by Lu Yi, the young man couldn't launch an offensive and thus eagerly urged Ayin. "That starship over there is currently a pirate vessel! Let's strike! Hit hard! —"

"Target its engines! Its energy tanks! — Blast its hull for me! —"

After all, military starships have escape pods! Even if we do manage to destroy it, nothing terrible will happen!

Ayin: "...”

The wolf fixated on the silvery mass, hesitating for an instant.

It turned its head towards Rong Mi's mech and sensed the young man's anticipation in his tone.

After a fleeting moment of hesitation, the wolf roared and charged forward.

The examiner's starship was actually designed with high defensive capabilities, its outer hull equipped with energy-absorbing shields.

Underneath the hull were sensors that logged every attack and absorbed energy. Once the cumulative damage reached a certain threshold, it would be deemed that the candidate had successfully eliminated the space pirate.

Rong Mi was well aware of this.

As an examiner, Lu Yi was bound by rules and couldn't fully utilize his mental power to counterattack, thus he could only buy time with defense and look for opportunities to retaliate.

Therefore, the faster and more fiercely Rong Mi attacked! The more blows that landed on the starship's hull! The quicker they would win!

The less mental power Lu Yi would expend during the battle.

Not only did he need to win swiftly, but he also had to breach the thick defenses of the starship, disabling its engines and energy supply, rendering it unable to continue the subsequent tasks...

Unfazed by Lu Yi's previous attacks on candidate teams and his intentions to target more, Rong Mi was determined to seize the proctorship starship right now! He wanted to bind their commander aboard his own vessel!

...How disobedient and incorrigible Lu Yi was!

Rong Mi wished he could confine him in a treatment room... tied to the medical bed!

Let him be unable to leave that bed for days on end!